Rosanne Cash

Rosanne Cash is an American singer and songwriter from Memphis, United States. Born in 1955, she is the eldest daughter of Johnny Cash and his first wife, Vivian Liberto. She is also the stepdaughter of June Carter Cash and the stepsister of country singer Carlene Carter.

Career

Cash releases her first single in 1979, a duet with Bobby Bare titled “We Don’t Need No Memories Hangin’ ’Round”. Two years later, she reaches her first country number one with “Seven Year Ache”, which also becomes the biggest commercial hit of her career. Through the 1980s she remains a major country artist, while working in a style that draws beyond traditional country.

Her hits include songs written by a range of writers as well as by Cash herself. Among them are “Tennessee Flat Top Box”, written by her father; “The Way We Make a Broken Heart”, written by John Hiatt; “Never Be You”, written by Tom Petty; and “I Don’t Want to Spoil the Party”, written by the Beatles. “I Don’t Know Why You Don’t Want Me” wins her a Grammy in 1985.

In 1987 she records “It’s Such a Small World” as a duet with Rodney Crowell on his album Diamonds & Dirt. A selection of these recordings and others appears on the compilation Hits 1979-1989.

Albums and collaborations

Cash marries Rodney Crowell in 1979, and he produces most of her hit records. Their marriage ends in 1992. The breakup is reflected in her album Interiors and in Crowell’s album Life Is Messy.

She later marries John Leventhal, who produces her albums The Wheel, 10 Song Demo, Rules of Travel and Black Cadillac. She records 10 Song Demo for the pop division of Capitol rather than the Nashville division of Columbia, where she has recorded her earlier hits.

Cash returns with Rules of Travel in 2003. The album includes guest appearances by Sheryl Crow and Steve Earle, along with a song written by Joe Henry and Jakob Dylan of the Wallflowers. Black Cadillac is released by Capitol Records in 2006 and is built around songs by Cash about the deaths of several family members over a 24-month period, including her stepmother, father, stepsister Rosey Nix Adams and mother.

Style and output

Cash’s work sits within country and folk, and she is associated with country, alt-country and Americana. Across her career she has more than twenty top 40 country singles, including eleven number ones, and continues to be identified as an artist who moves beyond Nashville while remaining rooted in country songwriting.